Run your Secret Santa without an account: enter the participants, set a budget, keep couples apart, and everyone gets their draw by email. Each person can also share a wish list with the group, reserved in secret.
Create your list in 30 seconds
Free, no sign-up. Your friends and family need no account to view it.
Why do your Secret Santa draw online?
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No more names in a hat
An online draw works even when people aren't in the same room, and nobody draws themselves, so there's no need to start again.
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Exclusions for couples
List the pairs who shouldn't draw each other, such as partners. The draw takes them into account automatically.
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Results by email, kept secret
Each participant only receives the name of the person they're buying for. The organiser doesn't see the pairings.
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A wish list for everyone
Each participant can create a gift list and post the link in the group. Whoever drew them knows what to buy, within budget.
How to create your list?
1
Create your list
Give it a title, add your gift ideas with descriptions and product links.
2
Share the link
Copy the unique link and send it via WhatsApp, text or email to your loved ones.
3
Receive your gifts
Your loved ones reserve in secret. You discover your gifts on the big day!
The draw tool is on the 'Organise a draw' page. It's free and doesn't require an account. Allow five minutes for a group of ten.
Step 1 — Name the draw ('Accounts team Secret Santa') and enter your first name and email as organiser.
Step 2 — Add participants with their first name and email address, from 2 to 60 people. Add yourself if you're taking part.
Step 3 — Set a budget and, if you like, an exchange date and a message for the group.
Step 4 — Set exclusions: the pairs of participants who shouldn't draw each other.
Step 5 — Run the draw. Each participant receives an email with the name of the person they're buying for. Everyone can then create a wish list and share the link with the group.
Secret Santa rules
The idea fits in one sentence: each participant gives a single present to someone drawn at random, without revealing who it's from. On the day, everyone leaves with a gift, and the group has spent a sensible amount instead of buying for everybody.
A few rules keep it enjoyable. The budget is the same for everyone, and people stick to it, neither well under nor over. The secret is kept until the exchange, even when a colleague tries to guess. And you buy with the person in mind, not a generic object picked up the night before: that's where a wish list makes all the difference.
On the day, set aside a moment for everyone to open their present in turn. Some groups then reveal who gave what, others keep the mystery to the end. Either works; just decide before the draw so nobody is caught off guard.
Exclusions: keeping couples apart
In a family Secret Santa, you rarely want two partners drawing each other: they already buy each other presents. At work, you might want to separate two people who share a desk, or a manager and their direct reports. That's what exclusions are for.
You list pairs, and the draw makes sure neither person lands on the other. Don't add too many in a small group: with five participants and three exclusions, there may be no valid draw left. The tool tells you if so, and you just remove one constraint.
What budget should you set for Secret Santa?
There's no official rule, but a few benchmarks come up often. At work, €10 to €20 puts everyone at ease, including interns and apprentices. Among friends, €20 to €30 is common. In families, where Secret Santa replaces buying for everyone, €30 to €50 per person is typical.
Announce the budget when you run the draw: it appears in each participant's email. If people share their wish lists, ask them to add ideas within that range, with a rough price on each item. Whoever drew you only has to reserve an idea on your list, without you knowing which one.
Work: €10 to €20
Friends: €20 to €30
Family: €30 to €50
Handmade or second-hand version: open budget, but capped
At work, with family, with friends: what changes
At work, Secret Santa is mostly about a shared moment that doesn't strain anyone's budget. Fix the exchange date early, often the last day before the holidays, and keep the budget low so nobody feels pressured. Wish lists are especially useful here, as you often draw a colleague from another department you barely know.
In families, the draw is a welcome alternative to buying for everyone: each person gives one present, chosen with more care, to someone they might not otherwise have spoilt. Many families leave the children out of the draw so they still receive from everyone; decide before you run it. Use exclusions for couples, and perhaps for parents and their grown-up children.
Among friends, Secret Santa lends itself to variations: a theme (a book, something handmade, a second-hand find), a video-call exchange when the group is spread out, or a game of guessing who gave what. The online draw works for all of them, since it simply makes the pairs and keeps the secret.
Work: date set early, low budget, wish lists encouraged
Family: exclusions for couples, children's place decided in advance